1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to disposable nursing containers for liquids, and in particular to nursing containers with nipples.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous patents have issued for various types of baby bottles or other containers for dispensing liquids to babies. These containers differ from each other in such characteristics as the means of attaching a nipple to the container, type of nipple, the use of various interior liners or inner containers for holding the liquid, and overall design of the container itself.
Because of the need of the babies' caregivers to have a portable supply of milk or other liquids, and the need to keep opened but unused containers of milk refrigerated between uses, a number of individual, prepackaged containers of milk or other liquid nutrients have been developed. Many of these containers include nipples and nipple attachment means. For example, the disposable baby bottle of Howland (U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,198) is essentially the same as previous bottles in shape but is vacuum sealed and has a threaded cap to removably receive a nipple. The nipple may be provided in sterilized form in a sealed cap to the baby bottle.
The baby-feeding packs of Hammond (U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,205) are flexible pouch-like bags having a liquid-containing compartment, and an auxiliary compartment with a folded gusset for containing the nipple. When the gusset is inverted after opening of the auxiliary compartment, the nipple is presented for access.
Similarly, the disposable liquid storage device of Soto (U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,923) has two pouches, one of which preferably contains the liquid to be dispensed, and the other of which preferably contains a dispensing means such as a nipple. A connector in the liquid pouch is used to break through the wall between the two pouches, so that the nipple may be attached to the connector.
The nursing container of Cabernoch et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,827) has a rigid outer container, for example, of rigid plastic and an inner flexible container. A self-opening nipple assembly is sealed to the flexible pouch and attached to the inside of the rigid container. A nipple access member inside the nipple is used to puncture the flexible container. Multiple nursing containers may be packaged together, for example, as a six-pack.
Other liquid containers may be used with standard nipples. The disposable baby bottle of Rane (U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,092) is a substantially cylindrical pouch terminating at an open end and containing a premeasured amount of liquid. An annular ring covered by a sealing cover with a pull tab is molded to the open end. A conventional ring and nipple assembly can be threaded on to the annular ring after removal of the sealing cover. The disposable nursing device of Eckholm (U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,925) has an inwardly tapering upper outer housing of rigid material, and an inner collapsible thin-walled bag. The top of the housing is adapted to receive a nipple.
Rogosich developed a nursing attachment for disposable beverage containers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,324 so that commercial beverage containers may be converted into a disposable nursing container. A hollow nipple in fluid communication with the hollow area of a puncturing means is secured to the hollow stem with an annular retaining ring.
Most of the prior nursing containers are not easily transportable or are not disposable, small volume packages for one-time use by a caregiver. Many prior containers also do not provide the caregiver with the option of carrying and using a single container, or of transporting a plurality of containers as a single unit. Thus, the prior disposable nursing containers are cumbersome to carry in quantity. For portable use, prepackaged liquids for babies and infants, which do not include nipples require that a nipple be separately cleaned, sterilized, and carried by the user. In addition, with many of the prior nursing containers, particularly the disposable ones or others made of non-transparent materials, it is difficult to determine how much of the liquid has been consumed.
Prior nursing containers in which the nipple needs to be handled and attached to the container opening have the disadvantage of possible contamination of the nipple, and of leakage due to careless attachment or an attachment means which does not fit together tightly.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a disposable nursing container for sterilized liquids which does not require handling of the nipple for attachment to the container or for release of liquid into the nipple.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a disposable nursing container for sterilized liquids which may either be carried and used singly, or may be carried in multiple unit carrying packs.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an easily usable disposable nursing container with which a nipple dispensing means is included.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a disposable nursing container for liquids which allows easy visual determination of how much of the liquid has been consumed.
Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.